Lake Havasu City Water Activities

Enjoy Your Life By The Water on “Arizona’s West Coast”!

Lake Havasu City is ideally situated, centrally located along 60 continuous miles of Lake Havasu and Colorado River waterways—so while a beachfront lifestyle in the middle of the desert may sound strange, we here in Lake Havasu City wouldn’t have it any other way! Our beautiful beaches are clean and sandy, with clear, fresh water—and our annual average of 360 sunny days per year makes swimming a year-round activity! The beauty of Lake Havasu’s beaches and the range of nature activities and water excursions it offers is beyond compare—one of the many reasons we’re known as “Arizona’s Playground!”

Popular water activities in Lake Havasu City include snorkeling, swimming, and boating, or just kicking back and relaxing on the beaches, which are the perfect spot to enjoy quality family time. In Lake Havasu City, there’s an abundance of ways to enjoy “Arizona’s West Coast”: swimming, sunbathing, windsurfing, kayaking, kite-boarding, canoeing, hang-gliding, kite flying, sand gliding, fishing, surfing, beachcombing, camping—whatever your pleasure, make no mistake, you’ll find it in Lake Havasu! But wait—there’s more! Boat excursions, SCUBA diving, snorkeling, wakeboarding, kayak tours, jet-skiiing, and tubing are other ways you might like to take advantage of the clear water and sunny weather; our city has a number of places where you can rent watercraft, water sports vessels, pontoons or tritons, or enroll in scuba training.

Boaters love Lake Havasu City, and most of the area hotels, RV parks, and campgrounds have boat trailer parking available, with many lodgings offering their own docks and launch ramps for guests to make use of during their stay. To say nothing of the Lighthouses of Lake Havasu, the city’s unique boat navigation system, featuring 1/3 scale replicas of famous lighthouses that aid in nighttime boat navigation!

If you’re looking for a convenient day trip to enjoy an afternoon on the water, Lake Havasu City is located convenient to several other popular destinations: Copper Canyon and The Sandbar are popular gathering spots for water celebrations; Skiers Island, one of the region’s favorite spots for water skiing, wakeboarding, or other watercraft sports; and Bill Williams River, Picture Rock and Topock Gorge are fantastic choices for naturists to enjoy hundreds of species of birds, flora and fauna while boating, kayaking or canoeing.

Lake Havasu State Park
Without a doubt, the biggest draw is the crystal water of Lake Havasu—“blue” in the Mojave language—for which our city was named, bringing thousands of tourists to our city each year, and enticing new residents from all corners of the globe to join us here, where life’s a vacation everyday! Known for its white sand beaches, Lake Havasu State Park offers guests so much to explore that one day on the beach is hardly enough! A favorite launch spot for area boaters, Lake Havasu State Park has two boat launch ramp locations, as well as one launch ramp solely designated for personal watercraft. Area sportsmen come to Lake Havasu and anglers from all over the country join them, competing in a variety of fishing tournaments scheduled throughout the year. Lake Havasu State Park’s Windsor Beach is right on the sandy, white shores of Lake Havasu, and this beach is renowned for its panoramic lake view and the scenic mountain skyline beyond. Beach amenities include public grills, picnic tables and covered armadas for weekends with the family—and you don’t have to leave the dog at home, either! Leashed pets are welcome at Windsor!

Rotary Beach

Easily Lake Havasu City’s largest waterfront public beach and park, Rotary Beach is the perfect place for residents and tourists to enjoy, easily accessible by boat or vehicle. The 40 acres of Rotary Beach are full of activities to enjoy by landor by water, with a a designated swim area, walking path, exercise stations and a skate park, as well as picnic areas, public grills, volleyball courts, ball fields, ample, clean restrooms, playgrounds for kids to have fun exploring, and an easy walk to London Bridge. Day boaters enjoy Rotary Beach’s easy access to the 45 miles of Lake Havasu’s coastline, with picturesque inlets and coves to discover—as well as the key location inside the 5-mph no-wake zone of Thompson Bay, ensuring calm waters for navigating.

London Bridge Beach

Along Lake Havasu City’s famous Bridgewater Channel, London Bridge Beach is waiting for you to visit for a perfect beach day! There’s plenty to do at London Bridge Beach, by land or by water—some of the beach’s most attractive features include a community stage for events throughout the year, covered picnic areas with tables and barbecues, basketball and sand volleyball courts, playgrounds for the kids, and a dog park for the “furry kids.” Lion’s Dog Park provides a fully enclosed, wide-open grassy space for your pet to romp, with ample watering areas and a hydrant-shaped fountain that sprays a cooling mist of water to keep pets from overheating. London Bridge Beach additionally welcomes leashed pets outside of the dog park. On the water, London Bridge Beach provides a buoyed-in swimming area, a walkway from the park areas down to the water, and a day mooring area along the channel for park guests who boat in. Additionally, the beach is within walking distance of the London Bridge shopping and dining district, as well as a number or rental locations throughout the park where visitors can rent personal watercraft, kayak and stand-up paddleboards for the day.

In addition to the Bridgewater Channel near the famed London Bridge, the clear, warm water of Lake Havasu makes our city one of Arizona’s premier destinations for boating and all manner of water recreation. Lake Havasu is unique from other inland bodies of water in that the lake’s water elevation remains near-constant, with a variance of less than four feet on average. This means that year-round, boating conditions are ideal—there’s never a bad day on the water in Lake Havasu City! Lake Havasu does not restrict any watercraft size, type or speed on the lake, with the only exception being the clearly posted no-wake zones, where reduced speed is appropriate to water traffic. The 45 miles of Lake Havasu’s water is full of tucked-away coves and out-of-the-way beaches to explore by boat, so whether you prefer the cruising pace of a pontoon or have a “need for speed” and prefer high-performance race boats, come on over—there’s plenty of room on the lake! After cruising on the water, most beachfront parks in Lake Havasu offer day mooring areas, so guests can boat in and relax on the beach, enjoy a picnic under one of the shaded armadas, or use the public facilities located conveniently along the beachfronts. There are no shortages of marinas and launch ramps in the area, all providing convenient lake access, as well as eight fueling docks to keep you moving all over the lake! There are also ample places for boat rentals, storage and overnight mooring, boat repair and re-sales, and boat service and detailing. There are plenty of rental companies along the waterfront where boaters can rent all manner of watercraft—many of which will even launch the boat for you, allowing renters to enjoy the water without any additional worries. Whether you rent a boat or bring your own, Lake Havasu is the Arizona boating experience you don’t want to pass up—come see why we’re Arizona’s playground, by land or by water!

Fishing In Lake Havasu City

Ranked as one of Arizona’s top fishing destinations, Lake Havasu is easily one of the leading fishing lakes in the Southwest as well, with the sunny weather making the sport popular throughout the seasons. As Lake Havasu is located along the border of Arizona and California, the appropriate state regulations apply to angler location on the reservoir, so make sure to stop by one of the many local bait & tackle shops to register for an Arizona fishing license, which is required on all Arizona fishing lakes. To fish from your boat on the lake itself, you’ll need to get a Colorado River Special Use Stamp on your license—but once you’ve made sure you’re registration’s up-to-date, you’re good to go! Lake Havasu is a sportsman’s paradise, full of blue gill, largemouth bass, striped bass, crappie, redear sunfish, channel catfish and flathead catfish. Local bag limits are 10 striper, 6 bass, 25 catfish, and unlimited crappie/sunfish—and with weather like ours, you’ll be surprised how quickly you might fill up your cooler! However, be sure to familiarize yourself with some of the protected fish species in Lake Havasu—local restoration efforts have made the razorback sucker, flannelmouth sucker, and bonytail chub off-limits for fishing. The Peninsula Hiking Trail provides guests with lighted fishing piers, perfect for day or nighttime fishing, and some of the record-largest catfish ever caught in Arizona have been pulled from the Bill Williams River, where the river beds are rich with large-mouth and striped bass, red-ear, and crappie. Free public fishing docks in Lake Havasu City are located at Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, Havasu National Wildlife Refuge/Catfish Paradise, Havasu Springs, 2 different docks at Mequite Bay, Take Off Point, and local favorite, the Site Six Fishing Pier. Historically, the Site Six Fishing Pier was constructed during World War II as part of the Havasu Auxiliary Airfield #6, purposed as an emergency landing strip. After the war concluded, Site Six was purchased by Lake Havasu City developer Robert McCulloch and re-purposed. Today, Site Six is one of Lake Havasu’s busiest public recreational spots and boating facilities, providing guests with a launch ramp, docks, restrooms and the ever-popular fishing pier.

If outdoor swimming isn’t your cup of tea, you’re still in luck! Not only is Lake Havasu City bountiful in its beaches, but , the Aquatic Center at the C.V. Wood Community Center offers residents a place to enjoy the water in an indoor setting, or for days when the glare of the sun is just too much. Additionally, the Aquatic Center offers swimming instruction courses, water aerobics, a lap pool, and a splash pool with a waterslide for families with young children.

Watersport & Boat Rentals

One of the key features of Lake Havasu is the calmness of the lake’s water—just perfect for all kinds of water sports! Imagine yourself surrounded by crystal blue water, surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of desert mountains and canyons—and then imagine yourself wakeboarding or waterskiing across the glassy surface of Lake Havasu, which provides the perfect place for slalom, speed, or major air runs. The hottest skiing spots on the lake are at the south end, just north of Copper Canyon. Here you’ll find Skiers’ Island and Skiers’ Coves One, Two, and Three between mile markers 48 and 60, the most popular destinations for waterskiing and other water sports—with no size restrictions or speed limits on the lake apart from the no-wake zones, there’s plenty of room to move. Many places throughout Lake Havasu City offer professional wakeboarding and waterskiing lessons, as well as rentals, so whatever you’re in the mood to do on the water, there’s a convenient place to pick up whatever gear you’ll need. Sandbar Watersports offers watersports and boat rentals, and River Cyclery & Sports has kayak and paddle board rentals available, as well as bike rentals. Or if you’d rather kick back and let someone else do the navigating, BlueWater Jet Boat Tours takes you on a action-packed jet boat tour that launches from the London Bridge area and makes its way toward Topock Gorge, traveling up the Colorado River through the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, where passengers can watch the breathtaking views of the rock formations and Indian Petroglyphs of Devils Elbow zipping by on a journey they won’t soon forget!

Lake Havasu SCUBA

SCUBA diving is yet another great way to experience Lake Havasu. Year-round, visibility ranges from 10-50 feet, with water temperatures rarely dropping below the mid-50’s and peaking at 85 in the summertime, so SCUBA, like most outdoor activities, is never a seasonal sport in Lake Havasu. There are over 30 specific dive sites located convenient to Lake Havasu, where divers can explore fish in their native habitats, underwater geology, and yes—even the detritus of shipwrecks! Locally owned & operated SCUBA Training & Technology is your Lake Havasu full service dive center, with equipment, air, nitrox, rentals, professional training, custom dive charters and dive guide services available to assist divers of all skill levels. Additionally, the Lake Havasu Diver’s Association local dive club meets monthly and members organize weekly group dives to some of the most interesting dive sites our region has to offer, including Victoria Cliffs, Training Site # 5, Miller's Folly, Copper Canyon, Pilot Rock, Steamboat Cove, Friendly Island, Sand Isle, and Black Meadow Landing.

For more about what’s happening on the water in Lake Havasu City, contact: